Clean Eating Breadsticks (Gluten-Free, Grain-Free)

In my humblest o’ opinions, these are the ULTIMATE clean eating breadsticks. Have I mentioned I’m a carboholic? Right. So breadsticks were my friend. Or so I thought, until I realized that all of the crap in them, like so many of my other favorite “friends,” was making me miserable. So with some tinkering, I’ve managed to come up with a dough that is bready, fluffy, and versatile. I’ve used this base as a pizza dough, as a bun for sloppy joes, and even attempted modifying it to create cinnamon rolls (fail, terrible fail, but I will persevere). Best part about this hearty dough is that it isn’t loaded with expensive nut flour. The base is sunflower seeds (a favorite of mine), which when bought already hulled and unroasted are on the cheaper end of the clean eating budget. In the following pictures, I’ve shown how you can create your own sunflower meal. I actually used a combination of sprouted sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds simply because that’s what I had on hand, but you can easily use just sunflower seeds, or another nut meal (ie almond flour, or cashew meal) as a 1:1 replacement. As I already mentioned, the versatility of this dough is amazing, and I can guarantee that this will not be the last time this recipe shows up in a post! It holds together pretty well (considering it’s a gluten-free recipe, I can only do so much people!), is definitely hearty enough to dunk, and is protein-packed enough that it will leave you completely satisfied–unlike its high-glycemic, white flour counterpart. Oh, not to mention all of the good fats and oils packed into these little babies, which not only makes them healthy, but most definitely keeps them moist and fluffy. If you’re like me and NEED a clean bread replacement, or maybe are just looking for a more filling alternative to the yeasty, sugary white bread we’ve gotten so accustomed to, look no further, this stuff was made for you!

Clean Eating Breadsticks

• 1 cup ground sunflower seeds
• 1 Tbsp almond flour (to make these nut-free, use an extra Tbsp of flax meal instead)
• 1 Tbsp flax meal
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 2 pastured-raised eggs
• 3 Tbsp water
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp oregano or Italian seasoning mix
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Makes four 2″ x 6″ breadsticks.

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with a piece of oiled parchment paper.
2. Grind your sunflower seeds in a small food processor until in a medium-fine meal (as pictured below).
3. Combine your dry ingredients in a large bowl (ground sunflower seeds, almond flour, flax, coconut flour, baking powder, and spices).
4. Add the rest of the ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix by hand until thoroughly combined. Your mixture should stick together in a loose dough ball shape.
5. Divide your dough into 4 even sections, and mold into breadstick shapes. This dough will not roll out like a traditional bread does, so what I usually do is start to form the breadstick shape in my hands, then place on the baking sheet and continue to mold the dough until I have obtained my desired size and shape. The dough should hold its shape, but still feel slightly loose and watery. Place the breadsticks 1-2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
6. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until they are golden brown in color, browned on the bottoms, and cracked on the tops.